As recently as the mid-1970's, more than 90% of all portable grills used to cook food in the United States used charcoal as the heat producing fuel. Although portable grills that use LP gas to produce heat have been and continue to be generally more expensive at the time of purchase than portable grills fueled by charcoal and other means, the convenience, cleanliness and the heat control provided by portable LP gas grills have made them the product of choice among consumers. Presently, more portable LP gas fueled grills are sold in the United States each year than all portable grills fueled by charcoal, electric and natural gas combined.
The most common LP gas used to fuel portable gas grills is propane. Propane and other LP gases are typically stored in metal containers called cylinders. The 20# class vertical LP gas cylinder is by far the most common size of LP gas cylinder used in connection with portable gas grills. A 20# class vertical LP gas cylinder can be filled with approximately four gallons of LP gas. When properly filled to capacity with propane, such cylinders weigh about 20 pounds.
Most portable gas grills comprise a wheeled grill cart having one or more vertical posts that support a fire box. The fire box supports and contains a gas burner and a generally horizontal cooking surface. Typically, a 20# class vertical LP gas cylinder is placed on a lower portion of the grill cart below and preferably to the side of the fire box. The disclosures of the following patents are hereby incorporated by reference for their teachings regarding the various configurations of portable gas grills: McIntosh, U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,988; Collins et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,834; Charlson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,256; and Schlosser et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,184.
The prior art discloses several means of securing LP gas cylinders to the lower portions of grill carts. However, each prior art reference generally requires that the user physically maneuver a 20 pound LP gas cylinder into a relatively confined space that is situated close to the ground. The following patents are incorporated by reference for their teachings regarding the various ways LP gas cylinders have been attached to the base of grill carts: Charlson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,256; Lewis, U.S. Pat. No. 5,931,149; and Schlosser et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,184.
When an LP gas cylinder becomes empty through use, the user must disconnect it from the portable gas grill and transport it to an LP gas filling station to be refilled. Once filled, the user must then transport the refilled LP gas cylinder back to the portable gas grill and reposition it on the lower portion of the grill cart. Various factors including the size and weight of a full LP gas cylinder and the design of conventional portable gas grills can make it quite difficult for a user to transport and reconnect a full LP gas cylinder to a portable gas grill. A device is needed that can be used to facilitate the transportation of LP gas cylinders used with portable gas grills and make them easier to connect to such grills.